Pan-Fry

Simply the Best Deviled Eggs

October  4, 2022
4.5
2 Ratings
Photo by gravy lessons
  • Makes 12 deviled eggs
Author Notes

A walk in the dog park with my friend, Ben Hensley, inspired this recipe. As our Great Danes played beside us, we discussed the serious topic of the perfect deviled egg recipe. Our collaboration resulted in a deviled egg with basil and Dijon mustard in the egg mixture that was then topped with a large square of crispy bacon and crunchy shallots. We both continue to serve these deviled eggs at parties and marvel at how quickly they disappear. —gravy lessons

Test Kitchen Notes

These were really tasty and had a sophisticated appearance, setting them apart from the normal deviled egg you're used to finding at just any barbecue. I had a lot of fat render out from my bacon, so I did not add the duck fat, but I didn't miss it in the final product at all. My shallot was quite large so I used several "pinches" of cornstarch and rice flour—about 1 tablespoon of each (2 tablespoons total). They fried up perfectly and other than the fact that I had a bunch left over, they tasted great. I normally go the more rustic route when I make deviled eggs, combining all of my ingredients roughly in a bag then piping directly from there, but the food processor made for a very smooth filing, which definitely upped this recipe. The basil came through just enough and added a great flavor profile along with the pop from the vinegar and mustard. The salty bacon and crispy shallot were just what the eggs needed, creating an all-around really yummy bite. I had very little filling left over after piping; the amounts were just about perfect. I look forward to making this recipe again soon! —Sarahgreenbean

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Ingredients
  • 3 slices of bacon, each slice cut into fourths
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 pinch rice flour
  • 1 pinch cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon duck fat (optional)
  • 6 hard-boiled eggs
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar or Champagne vinegar
  • 1/8 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 1 tiny pinch cayenne powder
  • 1 to 2 pinches kosher salt
Directions
  1. Cook the cut bacon pieces over medium-low heat until crisp. (Cook a few extra pieces, just in case someone you love "samples" a few pieces, like husband my did.) Slice up the shallot into thin slices and mix with the rice flour and cornstarch. Remove the bacon from the pan, turn the heat up to medium-high, and add a spoonful of duck fat to the pan. Fry the shallots in the oil until they are brown and crispy. Then scoop them out and drain on a paper towel.
  2. Peel your hard-boiled eggs, cut them in half horizontally, and put the egg yolks into a bowl. In the bowl of a small food processor add the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, basil leaves, cayenne powder, and salt. Pulse. Add the egg yolks and pulse until the mixture is smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
  3. Place the egg white cups on a platter and cut a tiny sliver off the bottom of the egg whites to make them stand up straight. Pipe the egg mixture into the egg white cups. Garnish with the bacon squares and the fried shallots. Serve.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

6 Reviews

gravy L. January 16, 2016
CORRECTION: 1/4 cup of mayonnaise
LeBec F. January 16, 2016
As I was making a shopping list for this recipe, I realized that mayo was not on the ingredients list! though it's in the directions(but not the amount). Plse advise! and maybe write the editors and ask them to add it into your recipe (which you can't do because the contest recipes are in lock-down at this stage.) I hope you see this and respond this wkend because testing notes are due Tues.!
gravy L. January 16, 2016
Ack! Thanks for catching my silly mistake! I use 1/4 of a cup of mayonnaise. I'm so happy that you're testing my recipe. I look forward to your thoughts. :) I'm sending the editors a note right now.
LeBec F. January 15, 2016
yay, i'm gonna test this; certainly sounds delic! I have a fun thought for you. I don't know if you have recently had a "What was I THINKing?" moment, but that happened to me this last week. I grew up eating (heated)canned O&C fried onions, with steak, specifically. Well last week I bought a new variety of this- fried jalapenos. Since I am nowhere near a chili-head, I can only figure that I got temporarily confused about chile heat because I had recently read an article explaining that these three go from mildest(jalapenos) to hottest (habaneros), with serranos in between.
'Mildest' being the operative culprit here. Man it amazes me that just because I'm older and wiser, I can still make the STUPIDest mistakes.
Anyway, back to YOU and your recipe. Can you guess where I'm goin' with this? I bet chile heads would love your recipe with those fried jalapeno slices in place of the fried shallot! though you might want to issue a disclaimer for the unsuspecting when you bring them out!
gravy L. January 16, 2016
I LOVE your idea! I'm going to try fried jalapeño slices on my next batch. Thank you so much!
LeBec F. January 17, 2016
Anything for a lovely woman with such a HANDsome (and happy) dog!